Bengaluru’s lakes down from 1,452 to 193: Indian Institute of Science scientist

Bengaluru:&nbsp;&ldquo;Development and sustainability should go hand in hand. The city&rsquo;s concretisation has brought down the number of lakes from 1,452 in the 1800s to 193 now, the greenery from&nbsp;82% to 8%. Is urbanisation really a sign of prosperity,&rdquo; asked Lead scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Dr T.V. Ramachandra, during his talk, &lsquo;Lessons of Unplanned&nbsp;Organisation: Bengaluru&rsquo;, on Saturday.

He spoke about the abuse of lakes that are now burning and frothing because of metallic and chemical wastes dumped in them. &ldquo;Because of lack of governance, any water body or&nbsp;vacant land is being used as a wasteland. It has led to declining levels of groundwater, changes in local climate, enhanced levels of pollution and flood-like situations in the city,&rdquo; he&nbsp;said.

Quoting his research, Dr Ramachandra said that environmental literacy in the city is only 3.5%, which is at the root of most problems. &ldquo;People are not aware of the damaged&nbsp;ecosystem that they are living in and have greatly ignored nature&rsquo;s principle of equilibrium,&rdquo; he said.

To improve the environment, he suggested rejuvenation of lakes by desilting, rainwater harvesting, environmental education and sensitisation of youth to bring a better tomorrow.

Society, science and spirituality should come together to rebuilding the environment, he said.

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